Haunted Forest/Alux
Josh and the team find out why the darkest tales always take place in the woods. The crew treks from Los Angeles to the back woods of Transylvania to investigate claims made by Romanian villagers about mysterious occurrences coming from the Hoia-Baciu Forest that overlooks the town. Their initial advice to Josh : "Don't go in, because you won't come out." Just the words he needed to hear. Allegedly, the most haunted area of the woods is known as "The Circle", which is a completely barren space that looks very similar to a crop circle. Before the investigation, Josh and the crew decide to fly over the forest to get a better view. Mistake number one. Mid-flight, the town's only plane, which Josh affectionately calls, "an oldie but a goodie" loses it's roof and the team is barely able to make an emergency landing. Plan B anyone? Next up, the team heads south of the border to investigate the legendary Alux in Mexico. For centuries, sightings of the child-sized beasts have been reported and over the past few months, these claims have increased in the Yucatan Peninsula. So Josh , and his faithful team head down to investigate . Haunted Forest The Adventure After the disaster, the crew heads into the woods on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Once nightfall hits, they decide to set up base camp, which is unknowingly located—yep, you guessed it—right near the ubiquitous Circle. To begin the investigation, the crew strings out four infrared cameras within a 300-yard radius and then more than a mile out, they set up four trap cameras installed with GPS locators. These cameras are rigged to automatically snap photos if anything comes near its lenses. As a team , Jael and Gabe take random shots on their digital cameras and much to their surprises random specks of light appear in some of the images. Later on, when Josh and Mike discover The Circle, the EMF detector gives off large spikes of activity. Baffled by the lack of vegetation in this one part of woods Josh takes a soil sample to analyze later. And while the investigators are amazed at their findings, no one is prepared for what occurs during the isolation sessions—especially Evan. While conducting his isolation session in The Circle, Evan is seated on the ground and without warning is knocked backwards and dragged over two feet. When the rest of team finds him, he was disoriented but alive. Then, Rex, the team medic, unexpectedly becomes nauseous and has trouble regaining his bearings. Lesson of the day: Don't mess with the Hoia-Baciu Forest. Fearing that the team 's condition will worsen, Josh calls an end to the investigation and the crew returns home. The Findings Back in the States, the agricultural expert can find no sound reason as to why the soil doesn't grow in the infamous Circle, as the dirt appears to be "normal". Josh next heads over to Central Command to enlist the help of Ghost Hunters Jason and Grant. They quickly debunk the specks of light found in Jael's pictures as being common orbs or dust, which are commonly misconceived as paranormal sightings. Jason and Grant also note that because the investigation occurred in the woods, environmental factors such as weather and animals make it difficult to justify certain evidence. Yet the lone fact remains, something did toss Evan across The Circle with enough force to shake him to the core. And this occurrence alone is enough for Josh to rule that there is indeed something sinister living within the Hoia-Baciu Forest. Alux The Adventure Before heading into the woods, the team meets up with a local Shaman who's said to possess knowledge of how to ward off the evil Alux. He prepares the team for their investigation by making them all drink a beverage that the ancient Mayans use to keep away evil spirits. Once the elixir is down the hatch, the troop gets to work. They first begin their exploration in ancient caves where the Alux are said to live. The caves are now partially flooded with water so Josh and Jael go deep sea diving. While in the water, Josh makes a startling discovery of human remains. They appear to be thousands of years old, so Josh decides to let them continue to rest in peace. At night fall, the team sets up base camp and string four cameras within a 20-25 kilometer radius; they also place four infrared cameras within 300 yards in every direction While Sharra monitors the camera from base camp, Josh , Jael and Rex head off to explore the interiors of the Mayan ruins in search the Alux. They use the parabolic dish, which is a directional mic to pick up sounds throughout the woods. The investigators find remains of someone or something inside one of the ruins. Throughout their investigation, the team encounters poisonous spiders, snakes and scorpions but have no luck sighting the pygmy monster in the flesh. The Findings Back in LA Josh meets with Dr. Jim Dimes a mammalogist who examines the remains found in the cave. Unfortunately, the bones belonged to a goat and chicken—not quite the monster Josh hopes for. While the investigation in Mexico is exciting, eventful and quite interesting, Josh decides that perhaps the legend of the Alux is larger than the actuality. Quotes